I can't think of any other reasons as to why someone could still be a monoliguists in this day and age, and not at least be bilingual, except that they are either dumb or lazy. So naturally I look down on them.Lonelynight
I don't need any other language than English, so get over yourself. It is not a manner of ignorance or being lazy, it is a matter of need you fool.
[QUOTE="Lonelynight"]I can't think of any other reasons as to why someone could still be a monoliguists in this day and age, and not at least be bilingual, except that they are either dumb or lazy. So naturally I look down on them.TheWalkingGhost
I don't need any other language than English, so get over yourself. It is not a manner of ignorance or being lazy, it is a matter of need you fool.
"It is better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied, and if the fool is of a different opinion it is because he knows only his own side of the question."
[QUOTE="TheWalkingGhost"][QUOTE="Lonelynight"]I can't think of any other reasons as to why someone could still be a monoliguists in this day and age, and not at least be bilingual, except that they are either dumb or lazy. So naturally I look down on them.theone86
I don't need any other language than English, so get over yourself. It is not a manner of ignorance or being lazy, it is a matter of need you fool.
"It is better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied, and if the fool is of a different opinion it is because he knows only his own side of the question."
If you are going to use quotes like that, make sure you understand them and what you are replying to.
[QUOTE="TheWalkingGhost"]I don't need any other language than English, so get over yourself. It is not a manner of ignorance or being lazy, it is a matter of need you fool.TheWalkingGhost
"It is better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied, and if the fool is of a different opinion it is because he knows only his own side of the question."
If you are going to use quotes like that, make sure you understand them and what you are replying to.
"It is better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied, and if the fool is of a different opinion it is because he knows only his own side of the question."
theone86
If you are going to use quotes like that, make sure you understand them and what you are replying to.
And that's more of a reflection on you than it is on me.
Whatever helps you sleep at night. Of course the fact you dodged the chance to prove me wrong and picked a one liner instead, is more a reflection on you than me.
[QUOTE="TheWalkingGhost"]Somehow I doubt that. TheWalkingGhost
And that's more of a reflection on you than it is on me.
Whatever helps you sleep at night. Of course the fact you dodged the chance to prove me wrong and picked a one liner instead, is more a reflection on you than me. What do you think he thinks the quote means?
The American public education system is not very good at teaching other languages.Reed_Bowie
Pretty much. Though they are getting better about it. The school I went to (which is K-12) didn't start teaching Spanish until my sophomore year. That was about five years ago. My nephew goes to the same school I did and he's learning Spanish in first grade.
[QUOTE="Reed_Bowie"]The American public education system is not very good at teaching other languages.-Toshy-
Pretty much. Though they are getting better about it. The school I went to (which is K-12) didn't start teaching Spanish until my sophomore year. That was about five years ago. My nephew goes to the same school I did and he's learning Spanish in first grade. What state is that?
For most Americans, being monolingual is enough as they do not travel or intend to travel beyond their own tiny hometown or city (even if is as large as LA). Knowing just one language is all they need. Some do travel due to their jobs and may or may not decide to learn a new language. I tried learning Japanese as a kid (lived on the mainland for three years) and learned some, but not enough to be able to converse that well. Same with the languages in the countries I have been to. I learn enough or rather try to learn some so I can get by, but beyond that, it isn't easy, especially now that I am at least twice as old as you are.
Not everyone is lazy about it and looking down on them as you stated in your post (and tried to refute it in a different post). Some just do not feel the need to do so and it isn't restricted to any one country in the world. Get over it. That will be the way it is until life on this planet ends.
[QUOTE="TheWalkingGhost"]Somehow I doubt that. TheWalkingGhost
And that's more of a reflection on you than it is on me.
Whatever helps you sleep at night. Of course the fact you dodged the chance to prove me wrong and picked a one liner instead, is more a reflection on you than me.
Prove you wrong about what? You didn't provide an argument to debunk. You just made a statement with no support, which isn't all that surprising.
And that's more of a reflection on you than it is on me.
theone86
Whatever helps you sleep at night. Of course the fact you dodged the chance to prove me wrong and picked a one liner instead, is more a reflection on you than me.
Prove you wrong about what? You didn't provide an argument to debunk. You just made a statement with no support, which isn't all that surprising.
[QUOTE="TheWalkingGhost"]What state is that? -Toshy-
Nebraska. Grew up in a legit small town (none of that ~25,000 people "small town" sh!t). My nephew lives in Southern California and they don't make attempts to teach Spanish here. How are they teaching it there.
[QUOTE="TheWalkingGhost"]My nephew lives in Southern California and they don't make attempts to teach Spanish here. How are they teaching it there.-Toshy-
Illegal immigrants. It's ridiculous how many illegal immigrants from Mexico are in Schuyler and Grand Island. I get that, SOCal has more. Pretty much run the entire state now. I know why, I was just wondering to what degree.
I learned Portuguese last year when I was in Brazil for four months, but once I left I remembered f*ck all. I do wish to either re-learn that or Spanish sometime in the future. It's just really difficult to learn another language when I don't have the time and it's not a necessity for me to do so.
We Dutch people have to learn other languages for the simple fact that nobody in the world speaks Dutch. English is sufficient though. Oh and I can make myself clear in German and French, that can come in handy.
We Dutch people have to learn other languages for the simple fact that nobody in the world speaks Dutch. English is sufficient though. Oh and I can make myself clear in German and French, that can come in handy.
If you live in the US or Britain there is simply less incentive to learn a foreign language, so it's not really fair to judge native speakers of English by the same standards as those who grew up in a multilingual environment.
I do think that people who only speak one language are missing out, though.
I have no need to learn another language. I live, work, and hang with people who all speak Engrish. I don't see how it's lazy not to learn another one if there's no need to and the time spent learing a new one could be used on something else.
Some people just don't have a mind for languages. I would consider myself a monolinguist even though I can read and write French and Irish to a reasonable degree. Can't speak it for sh*t though, there's something just blocking it in my head.
We're a fine folk, us mono-linguists. We like our language and stick with it.
Kinda wish I'd stuck at French a bit more, or was able to stay friends with another guy from school long enough to learn Korean. But hey, as a single language, English is pretty handy.
We Dutch people have to learn other languages for the simple fact that nobody in the world speaks Dutch. English is sufficient though. Oh and I can make myself clear in German and French, that can come in handy.
TheFlush
German has quite a lot similarities to Dutch, so it's easy for me to understand. Speaking it is a little harder, but I can make myself clear so it's okay. Swearing or talking dirty in German is fun though haha.
French is quite difficult for me since it's not a germanic language, but it has a nice flow and sound to it. It feels like an accomplishment when you can speak some sentences at high speed :D
Well, if that's the main language of the country then there's no need to learn another. Half of the time, people learn languages for their own enjoyment. The only language that other countries might try to get folks to learn is English because it seems like it is everywhere. Learning languages has always been interesting to me which I am going to try to do in college and such but I did try Japanese first however I thought the chances of me meeting someone who speaks fluently out of class is slim to none so I would say learn languages that a large population already speaks first as it will probably stick. Like in America's case... Spanish.
I don't think anything of them. If they wish to stick to one language and don't feel the need to learn another then that's their choice and I'm sure they'll make it through life fine if they're smart about what they're doing (ie not going to a foreign country to live and work and not learn at least a decent amount of the native tongue). Good on those who do learn and can speak another language other than their mother tongue.freek666
This.
If you only know one language, fine. If you know two or more, fine. Learn as many or as few as you like. I plan on learning many, but I won't look down any on people who don't. Some people simply are more naturally inclined to learning more than one language, and I'm one of them. God bless, Crushmaster.
Get off your high horse. Not everyone gets to live in a country that has more than one official language, is taught a second language at school, or can be bothered to learn a new one on their own.
The scripture says that when man tried to reach the firmament by building the tower of Babel the Most High destroyed it and cast mankind into separate lands and tongues. Apparently, some people are still affected by that to this day.
Depends on where you live in my opinion... I live in Ohio... I am 22 years old... In my entire life I have never needed to know a foreign language to do anything here.
If you live in the EU... Then yes, I would expect someone to speak multiple languages as there are multiple countries with multiple official languages all in close proximity and with open borders... Especially if you lived right on one of those borders...
I feel this way because being able to speak multiple languages in the second example is essential to being able to communicate with those around you... I took five years of Spanish between 8th and 12th grade and now I am taking it again in college and hardly remember any of it because I never used it... The whole point of knowing multiple languages is communication... People in my situation shouldn't be looked down upon for only knowing one language... As knowing another language simply isn't needed at all to communicate in this region... If one day I move to the Texas-Mexico border or live overseas, clearly I would need to learn a new language to adequately communicate with those around me... If I were in such a situation and made no effort to learn another language then I could see people looking down on me for that... But for looking down on all people who don't speak two or more languages across the board regardless of circumstance just seems ignorant to me...
Depends on where you live in my opinion... I live in Ohio... I am 22 years old... In my entire life I have never needed to know a foreign language to do anything here.
If you live in the EU... Then yes, I would expect someone to speak multiple languages as there are multiple countries with multiple official languages all in close proximity and with open borders... Especially if you lived right on one of those borders...
I feel this way because being able to speak multiple languages in the second example is essential to being able to communicate with those around you... I took five years of Spanish between 8th and 12th grade and now I am taking it again in college and hardly remember any of it because I never used it... The whole point of knowing multiple languages is communication... People in my situation shouldn't be looked down upon for only knowing one language... As knowing another language simply isn't needed at all to communicate in this region... If one day I move to the Texas-Mexico border or live overseas, clearly I would need to learn a new language to adequately communicate with those around me... If I were in such a situation and made no effort to learn another language then I could see people looking down on me for that... But for looking down on all people who don't speak two or more languages across the board regardless of circumstance just seems ignorant to me...
C2N2
Do you only consume bread and water because that's all you need?
Depends on where you live in my opinion... I live in Ohio... I am 22 years old... In my entire life I have never needed to know a foreign language to do anything here.
If you live in the EU... Then yes, I would expect someone to speak multiple languages as there are multiple countries with multiple official languages all in close proximity and with open borders... Especially if you lived right on one of those borders...
I feel this way because being able to speak multiple languages in the second example is essential to being able to communicate with those around you... I took five years of Spanish between 8th and 12th grade and now I am taking it again in college and hardly remember any of it because I never used it... The whole point of knowing multiple languages is communication... People in my situation shouldn't be looked down upon for only knowing one language... As knowing another language simply isn't needed at all to communicate in this region... If one day I move to the Texas-Mexico border or live overseas, clearly I would need to learn a new language to adequately communicate with those around me... If I were in such a situation and made no effort to learn another language then I could see people looking down on me for that... But for looking down on all people who don't speak two or more languages across the board regardless of circumstance just seems ignorant to me...
theone86
Do you only consume bread and water because that's all you need?
I only know two and I think Im pretty lazy so ehh :P so I won't argue against that except I wouldn't look down amongst others I'll just think they are lazy too like me. I think it is pretty important if you want to know another culture otherwise it would be impossible to understand their pov.
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